Losing Against The Lower Board Team, Van Dijk Admits Liverpool Is Too Easy To Concede

Captain Virgil van Dijk admits Liverpool are easy to concede when they lose against Nottingham Forest. (X/@LFC)

JAKARTA - Liverpool got embarrassed while playing at home at Anfield. Against the team in the relegation zone, Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League match, Saturday, November 22, 2025 evening WIB, Liverpool lost 3-0. Captain Virgil van Dijk admitted Liverpool conceded too easily in that match.

Liverpool's goal conceded six times in two consecutive matches. A poor achievement after suffering a slump by swallowing six defeats from seven matches in various competitions.

The disappointing trend was finally stopped when Liverpool won 2-0 over Aston Villa in the domestic competition and then beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the Champions League.

Victory over the European giants is thought to have restored the confidence of the players and brought the Reds back on track. But the reality is not as expected. The Premier League defending champion lost 3-0 against Manchester City.

When trying to get back up after the international break, Liverpool even reaped bad results because they lost again with the same score when they hosted Forest.

Ironic that Liverpool are not only too easy to concede but also cannot score goals which have resulted in fans leaving the stadium early.

The embarrassing defeat was due to Forest struggling in the relegation zone. The surprising victory also allowed them to get out of the red zone and is now ranked 16th with 12 points.

Responding to the defeat at Anfield, Van Dijk said that Liverpool conceded too easily. "We were so easy to concede a lot of goals. And, they scored again from a set piece. We have to admit that we played very badly in a fight and were too excited. We are facing a difficult situation," Van Dijk was quoted as saying by Express.

"We were even nervous after conceding. This made us excited to immediately equalize the score. This is a natural thing when you are in trouble. We do have a problem, but we can't solve it just by talking. We have to work harder to fix it," he said again.

In that match, Liverpool really played under performance. They struggled to face Forest who played more effectively. Even the visitors managed to steal the goal through Murillo defender in the 33rd minute. This 1-0 score lasted until the first half was over.

Liverpool tried to get up in the second half. It's just that instead of equalizing the score, Alisson's goal conceded again when the game had only been running for one minute. This time, another defender from Forest, Nicolo Savona, who scored.

Furthermore, midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White solidified the visitors' lead to 3-0 in the 78th minute.

If Forest could break into Liverpool's goal three times, on the other hand, striker Alexander Isak, who is the mainstay on the front line, still can't score.

Likewise, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo were unable to break the deadlock which resulted in Liverpool having lost six times to 12 league games. The result made Liverpool slump to 11th position.

"This is the problem. All in this team are fully responsible. Football is a team and everyone is responsible. We have to be able to overcome it and have to work hard. We have to be able to get up," said Van Dijk.

"I've been at this club for a long time. We've gone through a lot. We're going to get up but it won't happen overnight. I'm not going to be silent and we're looking at the next game," he said again.

The embarrassing defeat made Arne Slot's manager starting to get insecure. The reason is that when the club has poured in funds that are not small to buy players, including Isak, who broke the England transfer record, the team's solidity fell apart.

Slot will face a difficult test with heavy pressure as he returns to the Champions League in the middle of this week.

They were lucky to get a profitable schedule because they returned to acting as hosts by hosting PSV Eindhoven.